A top Taiwanese security official said Wednesday that the chances of a war with China within the next year are “very low.”
“I think generally, within one year, the probability of war is very low,” National Security Bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong told Taiwan’s parliament. Chen said barring any major events, he doesn’t see any problems with Beijing “in the next one year, two years, or three years.”
Chen’s comments as Western media is hyping up the idea of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Earlier this month, China flew a large number of planes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), which was falsely portrayed as a violation of Taiwanese air space.
An ADIZ is a concept not covered by any international laws or treaties. The Chinese planes typically fly into the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ, which is nowhere near the island of Taiwan.
The uptick in Chinese military activity in the region is clearly a response to the increase in Washington’s military footprint in the region. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal revealed US special forces and a contingent of Marines have been deployed to Taiwan for at least a year.
The US has been rallying Western allies to join in the provocations against China. Last week, the US and Canada sailed warships through the Taiwan Strait.